The Director: First Novel of the World's Only Climate Fiction Trilogy

By Ana Filomena Amaral

“The Director” is a novel focuses on Gilgamesh's Sumerian epic, adapted to the present reality. Contemporary problems are addressed, from the destruction of the oceans to the genocide of Armenians, corruption at the highest level and the predatory greed that threatens the planet, including the situation of Syrian refugees, in the perspective of what humanity wants for the future and how is compromising it. The issue of immortality is nuclear, as in the Gilgamesh epic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665594011

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© 2021 Ana Filomena Amaral. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/18/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9402-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9401-1 (e)

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Trilogy Our Mother

Our Mother, who is in everything and everywhere,

preserved be your name and your body for us all,

let your generosity and wisdom shine on us.

Have your will guiding over ours, on earth and

all througout the Universe, and let us have every

day the bread and water you give us. Forgive our

disrespect, neglect, and greed, just as we forgive

those who offend us. Don’t let us descend into

extinction, and free us from our own end.

I dedicate this book to all women and men that struggle

for causes, to make this world a better place for all.

First it will be based on the Sorge, on care, which places us at the center of everything that happens and makes us responsible for whatever form the Other takes. The Other can be a human being, a social group, or a patrimony. It might be a part of what our own time has to offer us, but it will increasingly be a part of something else, the essence of a future that will only exist if we take good care of our present. [...] It is difficult to organize present times at the light of this ethic, because in present times it is already counter-intuitive enough in its way of standing up against hegemonic cultures, and to make matters worse it openly focuses on the future. [...] Our present fundamental responsibility is to maintain this possibility of responsibility alive. (Jonas 1984: 186).

Towards a new paradigm: a world based on care

Anthology of texts by Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo

THE DIRECTOR

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The director looked at the ocean from the height of both his pride and the superb design of his devotedly worked-out muscles. He certainly felt like a colossus, perfectly able to face the strength of the waves. While he was looking for a sail on the horizon, he thought about the strength that made him larger than life and seemed to render him invincible, the lord of all beings and all things. He had never felt that way before, but isn’t this what a director is supposed to feel? A director should always enjoy discretionary, overbearing, absolute power, very different from the more pedestrian kind of power that compels one to abide by any truth or justice differing from his own brand of either one. He was now facing the only rival able to grow to his own size, but the director was sure that even this one day, would bow under his dominium. The ocean before him was calm, defying those who fear it and deceiving the eagerness of all those audacious enough to dream up conquering it and making it their own.

Someone knocked on the door, and he promptly returned to his executive chair, facing his desk filled with the papers ruling the livelihood of all those he directed – a massive and imposing sight, inspiring distance, and keeping hierarchies straight.

Of course, there were rules, and he would abide by them. Questions having to do with all those applications had to be carefully and cautiously studied. He would listen to his team before he would decide, but the final decision would always be his. Only then would he inform her.

This specific proposal had been presented by a collaborator who resisted his charm and did not fall prey to his seduction. She also didn’t care for being rewarded or promoted. He understood nothing of her proposal’s subject-matter and needed his team to enlighten him before he could deliberate, seemingly by himself and from the top of his undisputed authority.

Every single day, a female whirlwind entered and exited the director’s office. Between the courtship, the harassment, and the consummation, there stood a plenipotentiary network that had been created in order to satisfy his pleasures. In his long, flowery speeches, he always emphasized the importance of collaboration. However, he rarely accepted it. He preferred the kind of order that only a dictatorship can ensure, and camouflaged those policies with neoliberal narratives, making the most of the newly invented term coined to embrace the slavery of the 21st-century

In the hallways, in the canteen, or in all other shared spaces, criticism about the director’s behavior was muted. No one dared to denounce or contradict him, not even those who had worked there for many years, had met other directors, and were thus even more aware than anybody else that this tyrant was undoubtedly the most incompetent, ignorant, and arrogant man who had ever ruled their institution.

The country was by then ravaged by a crisis that made it possible for fear, discouragement, and hopelessness, to reign above any other values. Even the boldest citizens felt the gags and threats exhausting their strength and drying their souls. But they were still brave enough to react against the director’s injustices and persecutions. Therefore, they were still telling him what he refused to be told, thus incurring in his anger.

As the institution kept descending swiftly in all the rankings possible, the director kept escalating ferociously in his arrogance and presumption. When the picture got bad enough, his counsellors suggested bringing in a new collaborator, adding that the man was ready to arrive that same day. For reasons still unknown, he had previously been expelled from various institutions. However, his competence and scientific superiority were respected worldwide.

Later on, Henry introduced himself to the disgruntled director, wounded in his authority by not being heard in the choice of the savior standing before him. To the ruler’s eyes this creature was shaggy, misaligned, disengaged, and even, he would say, animalistic! His handshake almost crushed his bones, hurting even his invincible biceps, worked out with much sweat for many hours, both at the weight machines and under the ruthless whip of his personal trainer.

- So, Henry, or should I say, Dr. Henry, your curriculum is really impressive. Several doctorates, in different areas, huh? And I’m also impressed by the number of institutions that you have gone through. You have been practically all over the place. Do you really intend to settle down here?

- Just call me Henry, by all means. You see, the time I spend at one given place has to do with the time I need to complete the task I was assigned to. They call me to gauge the problems that affect the performance of an institution and to devise a strategy to overcome them. After completing that mission, there are no more reasons for me to stay there. Besides, I’m constantly being asked to join several other institutions, for better or for worse.

- So, Henry, will you spend all your time just fulfilling that mission? Considering your curriculum, I would very much like to ask you to collaborate with us in other areas, namely, to promote our projects abroad.

- I’m afraid I must refuse your offer. The mission I must fulfil over here was defined by your superiors, and they didn’t give me any extra time to devote myself to anything else.

- Very well. I understand. I know your accommodation is already taken care of, but still, if there is anything else you need just let me know.

- Fine. I prefer to look for a place in the fishermen’s village. It’s within walking distance, and that is important for me. I just want to add that I’ll start by talking with all the staff. These conversations will be my first step to try to understand where the source of the problems lies.

- What? You mean to question my collaborators? I’m afraid that procedure is unacceptable. What do they have to do with any possible problems we might be having?

- I think that I should start by talking to them. I want to hear their opinions and their ideas. If you have any objections concerning my procedures, please take your case to those above us. Have a good day.

Henry walked out of the office, leaving behind the most intense anger raging on the director’s face. Who did that, that – who did that pretentious creature thought he was? How come he dared entering his domain to ask his staff whatever he wanted to? He still got on the phone to talk to the guardianship in the capital, overlooking everything and everyone, and why would not be him in such a position? As soon as this thought crossed his ambition, he put down the phone. Cowardice, and submissiveness would be his best strategy to climb up to a place where there would be no one above him. There would always be the minister, of course. But why wouldn’t he do whatever it takes in order to become a minister himself?

The director was still daydreaming through the heights of power when someone knocked on the door. A man with a sad face, a little crooked, came in, explaining that his son was very ill, and he needed to stay at home to take care of him. He had no one else to turn to.

- Yes, of course, I know children are always creating problems to their parents. You have the right to stay home to provide assistance to your child. But then you’ll have to deal with the evaluation, which is always related to the number of absences. And frankly, we are in a difficult time of the year. We need everybody we enrolled. I cannot take away your choice, legally based on the parent’s right to attend to their children. I’m only warning you of the consequences your choice might have. It’s your decision, now. Good Morning.

The next day that man did not go to work, and those who knew his situation concluded that he was at home taking care of his son. However, the director’s office phone rang all of a sudden to report his death. He had suffered a heart attack during the night. The funeral would take place within two days.

After taking that call, the director asked his secretary to inform everyone and buy a bunch of flowers on behalf of the institution. He sat about to prepare another speech, a speech capable of making a stone cry. While starting to write this piece, he still sent for Henry. He needed to know the progress of his inquiries.

All were present at the funeral to pay the last homage to their colleague. Among the black clothes, the flowers, the tears, and the sighs, many accusatory glances sparkled toward the leader. However, the director seemed immune to their anger, keeping his serene gravity all through the ceremony. Never in his parasitical mind was there the slightest question on what might have led to that heart attack. Nor was there the faintest sense of responsibility, much less of guilt.

It was time for the director’s funeral praise. As he had predicted, it made everyone present cry. But all those tears were not caused by the meaning of the words, but rather by the hypocrisy, the insensitivity, and the demagogy of its author. No word was truly felt or genuine, nor did any sentence truly express pain, or loss, or longing.

Once his role was fulfilled, he put down the flowers and left the group. He was worried by whatever it was that Henry had been doing so far. He meant to call him again during that same day, in order to find out about the evolution of his work.

When Henry entered, anyone could tell how impatient and troubled he was. When the director finally got to ask him why, he replied:

- In ten years of service, I have never been called to the office of any other director as I’ve been called by you during this past month. Right now, the only thing I can tell you is that when my report is completed you will be the first one to know about it. Until then, please stay out of my way and stop calling me all the time, so that I can ago about my work without interference or interruption. Good afternoon.

Henry left behind a bitter taste of his anger, now clearly combined with a taste of hatred that was increasingly visible and terribly unbearable. At that point, the director decided to take the day off. He needed advice on the situation from someone both reliable and wiser than himself. Therefore, he went home to talk with his mother.

When Iria saw her son arriving, she realized right away that something about him was wrong. He never returned from his office that early, and never came home without first going to the gym. She prepared him a whiskey to try to soothe the upset, unabashed face he had as he entered the door. Then she let him sit on the couch, so that he could put into words the reason for his inner uproar.

- Mom, did you know that the guardianship appointed a man to investigate what is going on in my institution? Why didn´t they tell me directly? Why didn’t they even ask me? This situation is a humiliation, an outrage, and not even my friends from the party could get me out of it. On top of this, he is impossibly honest and fair-minded. For him, values, principles, even ethics, stand over any regulations, as though regulations of this sort could ever be possible in a society such as ours. He has so much power that if he doesn’t want to, he’s got the right to keep me away from any information. In other words, I cannot know anything he’s collecting and preparing for presentation. Ah, but I’m going to do things in another way, Mom! Starting tomorrow, I will put to action my network of inside informers. Then the lord of the cassock will have a real taste of my powers! You should see the coat he wears, Mom! He looks like a shepherd. He’s pathetic! Well, at least I’ll be the first one to see the report. I mean, I hope he keeps his word. But I’m rather sure he will. This idiot is still one of those who think that honor, word, and name, are the greatest assets of a person – can you believe this?

- My son, listen to me. You’re still sure that tutelage never spoke with you, never questioned you about the descent in the rankings? If they did, I’m almost sure you gave them one of your evasive answers. So everything’s OK, it’s nothing that I cannot solve, am I right? They simply decided to go the other way, can you understand what I’m saying? He already promised that you will be the first one to read his report, and you know that he’s the kind of man who keeps his word, so calm down. For now, the best thing for you to do is to wait for that report with calm and dignity, without pressing him, and, above all, without ever meddling again. Just let him do his work.

After that conversation he felt more confident, and even willing to go to the gym. Later on, he decided, he would have dinner with some friends and start to unwind.

In the following days, the whirlwind of entrances and exits in the director’s office redoubled. Bogeymen, snitches, spies, informants, informers, traitors, all stopped there, each struggling to provide the most detailed and important information in the aim of at least not losing the job and at best being promoted, to the detriment of the most competent, most honest and deserving colleague.

In these dubious matters, merit is relative, the service they provided could be very meritorious for the director at that time and it was up to him to decide who would stop, back off, or move on. Some of them used this rationale to justify their attitude, if perhaps a rebellious doubt softly tugged their conscience.

It is a lightweight mother that I like to carry, for you too, so that when nothing else exists, you can make it revive with the immortality of your love. You will impregnate these walls with the warmth of your tenderness, and the windows will be your eyes always open to me, and, when there is nothing else left, it will be your lap, this house where I will rest my head and travel inside you, and never return again. Your lap will forever be my luck.

Ana Filomena Amaral in "Vaulted Home.

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